As a parker who received a ticket AFTER paying with ParkMobile, I would say that the problem is not the $21 (a fine is a fine), but the fact that the only way avoid it after getting the ticket is to pay the parking fee by mail and THEY have RECEIVE it withing 3 days. Otherwise the fine kicks in. Thats a pretty short leash to resolve disputes. My ticket was voided when I was able to prove that I had paid through ParkMobile, but what a pain.

Alewfie station parking always fills up early. Marathon Monday, is it more likely to be empty (people not working) or more likely to be full (people going to marathon)?

Anyone have experience with that?

Family member asking me about using transit to go downtown Monday and Im not sure if theyd be best with alewife or the lowell line. Dont want to send them to alewife at 8:30am and have it be full.

I would say it's far more likely it's going to fill up earlier than normal or same as usual. Not that many people have the day totally off from work, and Route 2 + Alewife is going to be one of the less congested entrypoints into the city for out-of-towners coming for the Marathon and early-bird Sox game.

Alewfie station parking always fills up early. Marathon Monday, is it more likely to be empty (people not working) or more likely to be full (people going to marathon)?

Does Alewife really fill up on a typical weekday? As of a few years ago it didn't.

There are electronic signs on some nearby roads. But recently they've been stuck displaying "PA ING UI L" 24/7.

Oh hell yes. I don't know if the traffic's been increasing or what, but people I know who commute in say it's panic time and a Plan B trip to Wellington some days if you don't make it by 8:30. The non-malfunctioning signs by the garage entrances bear that out.

On my morning jog around Fresh Pond just now I can say the traffic jam on 16 at the Cambridgepark Dr. light was little different from the typical weekday. Garage may not fill up all the way today, but I bet it's roof-deck parking for folks coming in later for the Sox/Marathon.

Yesterday some brand new parking payment machines appeared in the station lobby. They're not turned on yet. They'll let people pay before returning to their cars, which should speed up the lines to exit in the afternoon rush. And they take credit cards.

They've also been installing new booths in one of the usually-closed helix exits near the end of the Minuteman bike path.

I hope this is part of a bigger plan to reduce the huge traffic jams getting out of the station and onto Route 2 in the afternoon. A 45-minute traffic jam after getting off the train is not the way to encourage transit ridership.

Why cant they come up with a device ,like an ATM machine, where you insert cash ( or a credit card ) , a receipt is spit out, and then you return to your autocar and place this receipt on the dash so that it can be seen by the parking agent.

They can. And that is precisely what they do at Fitchburg and North Leominster (although the North Leominster lot is presently ripped up to build a parking garage).

Why cant they come up with a device ,like an ATM machine, where you insert cash ( or a credit card ) , a receipt is spit out, and then you return to your autocar and place this receipt on the dash so that it can be seen by the parking agent.

They can. And that is precisely what they do at Fitchburg and North Leominster (although the North Leominster lot is presently ripped up to build a parking garage).

It's also done in Melrose. But Melrose owns the parking spaces, the parking machines, and gets all the parking revenue.

Bringing this topic back ... I'm moving back to the area, will be living in Bridgewater near stations on the Middleborough and Kingston/Plymouth lines, and working near JFK/UMass. But I looked at the fares and parking ($20ish a day) and realized driving to Quincy Adams and parking may make more sense. Anywho...at what time does the QA garage fill up? What about the Home Depot lot?